Previous research has identified neurons in a variety of limbic structures which discharge in relation to the animals ongoing head direction (HD) (Ranck 1984; Taube et al. 1990a) or location (O''Keefe & Dostrovsky 1971). Because these signals...

Circadian rhythms are found ubiquitously throughout life on the planet. These biological clocks stem from common underlying molecular architecture revolving around a time-delayed feedback oscillator driving robust, approximately 24 hour rhythms. In...

Annual screening mammograms are recommended for all women above 40 years of age for early detection of breast cancer, and are known to improve cancer mortality rates. However, mammography is hampered by low sensitivity and a high rate of false...

This thesis describes the synthesis of sulfobetaines having the general structure $\rm RN\sp{+}(CH\sb3)\sb2(CH\sb2)\sb{x}SO\sb{3\sp{-}}$ as novel inhibitors of squalene synthase. Squalene synthase reductively couples two molecules of farnesyl...

Drosophila melanogaster is a model organism often used when studying the complex processes of neuronal signaling and neurodegeneration. The short life cycle, malleable genetics, amenability to in vivo electrophysiological assays and sensitivity to...

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides unique contrast reflecting the translational motion of water in its microscopic environment. This imaging modality has been shown to highlight infarcted regions within minutes after an...

This thesis describes a new synthesis of substituted (3H)-1,2-dithiole-3-thiones (dithiolethiones) from readily available starting materials. Dithiolethiones have a wide variety of industrial and pharmaceutical applications. These include use as...

Our laboratory is concerned whether the distribution of chemically-induced DNA damage is non-random at the level of individual genes. Using changes in gene expression as a marker for DNA damage, we have previously demonstrated that genotoxic...

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is used to cause specific tissue destruction, using photochemical reactions that result from light excitation of photosensitizer, which has localized in the target tissue. The process of photosensitizer photobleaching was...

In nematodes an alternative third larval stage, often called the dauer stage, allows the animals to weather periods of low food availability (if free living) or to disperse (if parasitic). Recently, studies of mutations in the nematode...

Scleroderma (systemic sclerosis; SSc) is a devastating autoimmune disease of unknown etiology for which there is no cure, and no truly effective therapies available. Immune dysfunction, fibrosis and vasculopathy are the three major features of the...

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in cognitive processing and emotional regulation, and altered serotonergic signaling in the cortex is associated with disorders such as schizophrenia,...

Influenza virus is a respiratory pathogen that is capable of causing considerable pulmonary pathology and respiratory dysfunction in humans. Seasonal influenza epidemics and the occasional influenza pandemic are responsible for significant...

Acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferases (ACATs) are key enzymes in cellular cholesterol metabolism. There are two isoenzymes, ACAT1 and ACAT2. Here I performed biochemical analyses of individual amino acids within c-terminal loop of ACAT1 and showed...